Fantasy The Coming of Two Kingdoms

[Silverwings]

"Anything, everything. Tell me of your time on the ocean?" She asked as she silently looked over his tattoos. How far did they go, she wondered. Would they stop at his chest? She couldn't possibly imagine more. How much pain that must have been.

 

[Eonivar]

He watched her looking at his tattoos, he laughed. In anticipation to her silent question. "Since you seem so interested in them, before I talk about the sea, I will answer the question on your most divine face, yes, they do completely cover my body. Do you want to see? I was kind of saving that for our wedding night, but I do not have to show you..all of them..yet. " He grinned seductively. "But I can show you those that are important to Ruvian society. All Ruvians have tattoos. " He teased some. "Or I can wait..."

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora's eyes widened at the idea, mouth opening in playful objection. She laughed, playfully pushing his arm, "You scoundrel! Save that for after the wedding at least."

She giggled, showing the idea didn't actually upset her, "I admit. I am interested in your tattoos, but in this case, the answer requires, first, patience."

Sevora looked over the tattoos once more, "They are uncommon here. Only the working class gets them. They do it to overcome language barriers for their line of work."

 

[Eonivar]

Rhonin grinned and looked at her, he sat up, reached up, and unbound his hair, she could tell he was still very unused to wearing his hair that way. He took a deep breath reining in his physical desire. "Patience indeed Sevora. I am looking forward to our Wedding."

He then started to remove his boots. He seemed to have a lot of energy all of the sudden, trying to channel his physical desire for Sevora into something else. "In Ruvio on their coming of age day, every Ruvian receives two tattoos, their clan rune, and icon. An icon is determined when they are born and the other parent goes outside and identifies the first animal seen, but I will save that for our wedding night because mine is different than most Ruvian."

 

[Silverwings]

"I find your tattoos attractive, even those I rarely see tattoos one people," Sevora admitted, "I dont think I've ever cared for markings on people until now, to be completely honest. But now, I am in complete wonder about yours."

She let a moment pass before speaking once more, "Where were we? Oh yes, your travels. Please. I am so curious. I want to know of everything you can think of."

 

[Eonivar]

Rhonin finished removing his boots and socks underneath, she saw his tattoos went down to his bare feet as he wiggled his toes. He looked over at her, took her hand in his, and smiled at her comment. He reached up and placed a finger on her lips. "Soon enough dear Sevora, soon-to-be wife, in a few days you can have all you want of my tattoos, trace and touch, kiss and hold, and more. I promise. I will tell you everything about them. " He laughed, "It is like I am a teenager now than before. My travels."

He stood up and stretched. "Well Hearthhome, sits on lake Telderain at the base of the Heart's Forge mountain, the river Ordan flows from the lake to the sea on the far western edge of the Obsidian mountains. . I had learned to sail ton the lake but it did not prepare me for working on a ship on the big, salty waters. We rode out on a river boat to the ocean beyond the mountains. We then walked south along the beach for several days. The beach on the ocean is a wondrous place, the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach is something that you will never get out of your head. It is so calming. We were picked up by a ship anchored off shore. Something that Master Pallas had arranged. The ship was named "The Lookfar", it was captained by an older human man named Teeg. It was a human crew, men and women. Humans are an interesting sort. Passionate, emotional, short lived, and yet can accomplish so much in their short lives. A fire that burns so brightly but for such a short time."

 

[Silverwings]

"That sounds so interesting," Sevora said with a smile, "I hope I can see the beach with you some day. We don't have any ocean beaches here. But the southeastern border if our country is lakeside on Farvion lake. Its nice, though only a portion of it is really a beach, the rest is a marsh. We have several ponds and many rivers in out land. They all have very nice beaches."

 

[Eonivar]

He stretched and went through a series of exercises while he spoke. He did handstands, and the splits, he was extraordinarily limber and strong, each form slowly changing into another form, he was entrancing to watch, and perhaps a bit innocently seductive. She could tell this was an exercise routine for him. "Maybe we will go sometime and see the ocean, it's three days by river from Hearlthhome. So on the Lookfar, I got to know the humans there and work very hard on the ship. It is an exciting perspective being on a tiny ship alone on the massive ocean. I will admit, I am not as comfortable with water. My connection with Ruvan is a connection with Earth and Fire and to some extent the nature associated with those two elements. Being over water and even being here up in the air makes me feel...disconnected. And you do not have a lot of fire on a ship. Considering the ships are wood, fire can be bad. I did help them in putting a fire out. It was an interesting journey across the sea to the other continent. We ran into storms and got attacked by pirates, and yet there were moments of peace and camaraderie and togetherness with these amazing humans. Not all of them were great, but they were mostly good."

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora watched the limber man exercise, finding it to be both attractive and soothing. It was like watching a fire dance in the fireplaces. Steady and attention demanding. Though she knew he wasn't demanding attention himself, she couldn't pull her eyes away as he continued on, "I havent met many humans. We have a human populated village near the marsh but they prefer aloneness."

 

[Eonivar]

Rhonin smiled at her. "The humans vary much in personality and appearance. They are all very unique from person to person, they do breed like rabbits though, and they can be very emotional and passionate. They learn things very, very quickly." He continued to stretch going into a bit of ballet. Now he was just dancing to please her. He looked over at her watching.

"Do you exercise or meditate? I was just thinking, we did not get to dance together. I think I danced with everyone else, and I was really looking forward to dancing with you. Do we dance at an Asterian wedding? I can teach you some. Although it may be difficult in that dress, that may be something we will have to wait on as well I suppose."

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora loved the dancing the Prince displayed, "I had hoped to dance with you, but we ended up being busy. We typically dance at weddings and other celebrations. Would you happen to know how to waltz? I dont really know many dances otherwise."

"I dont really exercise much, unless riding Eclypse counts, as for meditation, i think I might consider reading to be my meditation. It calms me and helps me feel connected with the world. Though, sometimes I just sit and let my imagination run wild. It makes me feel like I'm flying sometimes. "

 

[Eonivar]

He smiled at her, he would love to see what she sees in her imagination. “I have always been told a healthy body makes a healthy mind. We will have many years together. I can teach you to exercise with me, which I assure you will be fun, and you can tell and show me of your favorite books.” He slow turned on point and lowered himself extending a hand to her. “And we can dance together right now, to the music of our hearts, slowly, gently one step at a time. Nothing fancy, nothing formal, just the two of us.”

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora smiled and stepped up to the prince. Instead of the formal Waltz style of dance, she put her arms around his shoulders as a couple might, "Dance with me then. Just us. Our music. With each other. Nothing fancy."

She quite enjoyed the closeness. The faint smell of whatever soap was used in his hair earlier that day. It was all pleasant. And him. His good looks and his charm. He was a natural flirt. Sevora knew that. She could tell easily, "I am eager for our wedding. Is that strange?"

 

[Eonivar]

He lead her effortlessly around the library, swaying with her close to their own, slow rhythm. There was a bit of honeysuckle smell in his hair. He enjoyed her closeness, he felt like he could be open with her, and it was a nice feeling. "I have been eager for ten years. It's not strange at all. What is really exciting is that we actually get to do two weddings, and one of them as an already married couple. More for our families and people's sake than anything I suppose. Have your parents mentioned anything about where we are going to reside after weddings? My father mentioned something about giving us Castle Innisguard on the river Orden which sits on the border of our two countries and is an equal distance from both capitals. The river would enable us fairly quick travel to either place if we are needed."

Innisguard is a large fortification that guards the Innis pass into the Obsidian Mountains from the Asterian planes and sits over the river Orden which also flows in the lake where the capital of Ruvio, Hearthhome sits, the same river flows near to the Asterian Capital.

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora shook her head, "I havent had much of a chance to speak with him about it if I'm to be honest. Though that does sound lovely. What is it like? Innisguard, I mean. Is it pretty there? Is it cold?"

There were many things she wanted to ask about the place. Would there be a tower like the one they stood in? Were there crystals? What did Ruvian crystal actually look like? She had read descriptions but never seen a drawing.

 

[Eonivar]

They slowly swayed and turned about pausing in the open window where the moonlight shone down through. Asteria's light shown down on the darker skin of Rhonin, his tattoos seemed to glow in response with the light, as if Rovan enjoyed the touch of the Goddess. "Innisguard is a mighty castle built on the Mountain of Innis, and sits over the City of Innis. The Orden river flows south through the Obsidian Mountains and splits into east and west forks upon reaching the mountain Innis. The East fork is the main river and continues through the low lying Innis pass into the Asterian plains, the West fork comes out over the Obsidian Falls on the West side of the mountain, probably the largest falls in this part of the world. The City of Innis sits on the strip of land south of Innis mountain between the two river forks before they reform again. The falls are multi-tiered and beautiful, the fortress actually extends over the falls, and affords a beautiful view of the Asterian plains to the south. "

Innis and Innisguard had been a significant battleground in the long-standing Asterian-Ruvian wars. The Asterians had laid siege to it repeatedly to invade the Obsidian Mountains, but the city had never fallen, thus having the Asterians think of a new strategy of flying over the mountains to access the interior. It is a near-perfect fortress. For any enemy actually to take the fortress they had to cross the rivers, then fight through the walls of the city THEN fight up the traverse that leads to the fortress on the south side of the mountain. The fortress had water landing points on the north side of the mountain for supplies to come in by river from the Ruvian Captial, the fortress itself has some of the largest artillery pieces to rain down fire and rock on their foes in the plains below.

 

[Silverwings]

"It sounds beautiful," Sevora said softly, "It sounds lovely. I would love to see it. We have little more than war manuals about it. Even then, they don't tell much about the city. Only ideas on how to get in. They don't tell much about the beauty and such. Is it cold there? Do Ruvians ever wear furs during the colder seasons?"

 

[Eonivar]

Rhonin still pausing in the moonlight brought her close in a hug to feel his warmer body to hers. It was both to hug her in the moonlight and to prove a point

“Well it is farther north so it will be cooler. Less warm lunar cycles and more colder ones. Innis is the farthest south of the Ruvian cities, although it is the least populated since the end of the war. So it is not as cold as Hearthhome or any of the other Ruvian cities and villages. But I would say it is colder there most of the year than say here. So for you and any of your people I would say you would need additional clothing during the cold months. We will provide you anything you need to be warm and safe. Remember that any gathering in Ruvio has a fire burning, even if it is two people and there is always wood to burn if you should wish a fire when alone.” He gazed into her eyes as he nuzzled her cheek. “And I will be by your side to keep you warm. In Innis we generally do not need to wear furs anytime during the year but as you go farther north and at higher elevations that changes drastically. In Hearthome, the center of the Obsidian Mountains, during the really cold cycles, when it is dark most of the day, furs are necessary even for us, and when you get to Fox’s Glen, the farthest north of our cities, where Nevri is from,they are worn all year round.”

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora gave a smile, leaning in to capture the Prince's lips. A fantasy of keeping warm by a fire in Rhonin's arms with a blanket draped around them danced in her head, "It sounds so romantic. I think I may come to enjoy the cold if only for selfish reasons."

She giggled softly as she pressed their for heads together, her fingers just lightly touching his cheek, "I enjoy the Idea of having your arms around me. Having you to keep me warm. It pleases me."

 

[Eonivar]

Rhonin grinned with the kiss and closeness, holding her close, feeling her clothed body next to his in the moonlight. . He could not believe what he felt for this woman in such a short time being with her. He thought the love would come with time, that was the way he imagined it, he did not predict being this close so soon. "Sevora, I cannot believe I am going to say this now as I thought it would take time for me to come to this. I love you. I am very happy you are going to be my wife. I wish we were getting married tomorrow or even right now in Asteria's light. I just want to start sharing my life with you now."

 

[Silverwings]

Sevora could only squeal in delight at the prince's words as she hugged him tighter. Her heart swelled with happiness, "I too wish we could marry sooner. But with the delay, I believe when we finally are married it will be a wonderful and blissful day. And I will be happy to be your wife, Rhonin."

Her hair seemed to shimmer in the light of the crystals as a soft breeze swept through the tower. As if Astera was sharing the same delight at the declaration of love. If Sevora's hair were down in its normal style, it would flow gently in the breeze, "I love you."

 

[Eonivar]

The night continued on for both of them, as they shared their love and excitement for the coming days. Only for them to appear at the doorway of the tower to sneak back to their rooms. Nevri paused in the shadows and watched them go hand in hand, doing her job, and followed quietly behind them, waving to the Asterian guards with a smile to 'pay no mind' to the Prince and Princess so very wrapped up in each other at the moment. They paused at the dimly lit room of staircases for them to part, sharing one last 'secret' kiss before reluctantly parting...going up their respective staircases, looking back at each other, smiling, dreaming of the coming days to when they would not have to part anymore. And then stealing up to bed to dream of their togetherness.

The stars shown down on the earth below, Asteria and Ruvan touched again after all of these years, and in the air and upon the earth, there was a warm feeling of a reunion that was long missed finally coming back together again.

 

[Silverwings]

The next day brought on a meeting with the royal families on the living arrangements, wedding arrangements and so on. The young couple had no choice but to be present for the meeting as their input was important. It was mid day when they were summoned for the meeting.

Sevora made her way to the meeting room once summoned and found that the seats left open allowed for herself and Rhonin to sit together. She smiled, curtsying to her parents, "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, darling." Her father said with a smile, gesturing for her to sit. Sevora took her seat, waiting for the Ruvian family to join them. She seemed happier than usual. She night had been spent dreaming of Rhonin and their wedding to come.

 

[Eonivar]

The Ruvian delegation walked in King Einri, followed by Queen Vaia, with Rhonin and Pallas trailing after. There was a business-like attitude amongst them, until Rhonin looked up and saw Sevora and smiled. Vaia looked at her son and future daughter and smiled. Einri did not seem to notice and took his seat at the other end of the table, Pallas and Vaia on either side of him, with Rhonin next to Vaia and Sevora on his other side.

Einri nodded at the Asterian King and Queen. "I apologize for our lateness. We received another Stormcrow from home and there have been some odd reports of unrest. I realize that it is necessary to be here for my son and soon to be daughter, and to solidify our kingdoms bond, but I must request that we move the Wedding up sooner than later so I may return to my Kingdom to restore order. Right now it is small, but I am sure you know well how some of these things go."

 

[Silverwings]

"I understand. We too have gotten word of unrest in the kingdom. I agree, we should have the wedding sooner." The Asterian king nodded, glancing at the Prince and princess. Sevora showed a look of delight at the idea that they may be able to marry sooner. King Elvyan smiled at his daughter before looking at King Einri, "How soon do you wish to have the wedding?"